Lilith’s POV
When Shayla told her secret, the castle felt quiet. I stood there with my heart beating fast as her shaky words filled the heavy air. “I didn’t want to, Your Highness. I promise! It just… he said he’d keep me safe, and I thought-”
“Stop!” I said quickly. The worried maid quieted down with her eyes big with fear. “You’ve talked enough for now.” I looked at the closest guard. “Go and get Dale right now.”
“Your Highness?” The guard paused with a worried look on his face.
“Do what I say,” I told him with a strong voice. Dale had to listen to this by herself.
I knew I had to move quickly. Each second passed like forever with results that could change everything in our world.
When the guard hurried away, I felt Adams next to me looking at me with a steady and curious look. “Why did you call for Dale?” he asked with his voice deep and worried.
“I’ll tell you soon,” I said while keeping my eyes on Shayla who had fallen against the wall while covering her face and shaking hard.
“We don’t have much time-every second makes the plan against us worse.”
Adams shrugged with his strong body making a big shadow. “Then it is smart we figure this out before it gets worse. Shayla,” he ordered with his kingly voice, loud and strong, “talk!”
Shayla shook like my mate’s words hit her. Slowly she put her hands down with her eyes full of fear.
“I… I talked to Sir Ben the whole time,” she said with her voice shaking. “He… he made me spy for him.”
“You are saying you have been lying to us,” I interrupted while not hiding the anger in my voice. “Why should we believe you now?”
Her eyes moved quickly with fear growing as she saw we had her future. “I never wanted to hurt anyone! I thought I was doing good! He made me think Sir Raoul and the Alpha King were to blame for everything!”
“Who is ‘he’ Shayla?” Adams asked while looking very serious. “Please be clear!”
“Ben!” she shouted while crying with her voice full of fear. “He made me share what I heard! I listened to you and Dale talk about Dale. I sent him a message about the killing. Ben wanted to blame Raoul! He thought it would cause trouble in the palace and make you fight him!”
I held the edge of the table to keep steady. “Did you message Dale about her village? You were the one who told Dale that it was Raoul who massacred her village!”
“Yes!” Shayla yelled. “I-I thought if Raoul turned the enemy again, maybe we could… But I was scared! I didn’t think it would go this far!”
The news hit me hard like a lightning strike. Ben was behind this whole lie. Anger flared in my chest while burning away any feeling of pity I had for Shayla.
It was clear that her mistakes almost lost us everything we loved. And still at that moment a strong feeling of betrayal felt like a knife in my stomach.
Before I could say what I was thinking, the door opened fast and Dale came in. She bowed down low, showing both respect and strong will.
“Your Highness,” she said with her voice calm even with the chaos in the room.
“Get up Dale,” I said while looking at her as she stood tall. “You must listen to this.”
Adams moved nearer to her with his serious voice. “Shayla has told us something-something that involves Ben in what happened to your village.” He looked at Shayla. “Say again what you told us.”
Shayla looked around the room quickly like a scared animal. “I-I didn’t want to hurt anyone! I was just trying to stay safe!”
“Talk!” Adams’ voice was loud, and I felt the air grow tense as Shayla realized how serious her situation was.
With shaky breaths she started again. “I talked to Sir Ben the whole time… I thought I could help. He said Sir Raoul was behind it all and…”
I saw Dale’s face showing shock. “What? You mean… I was mad at the wrong person all this time?” Her hands curled into fists with her eyes full of fire. “Ben tricked me!”
“Yes! He wanted you to chase Raoul.” Shayla cried with sadness, breaking her weak strength. “He wanted you to have anger! I was scared of what would happen if I didn’t listen…”
Dale’s face changed to one of anger as she moved closer. “You didn’t know how much he betrayed me, but your actions made me a tool for him! I wanted to get revenge for my family!”
Her feelings swirled around us full of strong energy. Dale’s voice got softer but her will grew stronger. “I should have known better.” She stared straight at Shayla with her eyes filled with fire.
“You don’t know what I was ready to do! I wanted to find ways to kill Raoul because I thought it was right! But I see now it was never about him, it was always about Ben!”
I could see the cracks in Dale’s anger and my heart grew big. The strength to keep feelings after being hurt was very valuable, and it took great bravery to stand in such a mess.
“Dale, relax,” I said. “We have all been hurt here in some way. This cannot lead to more revenge-it’s about coming together against a shared enemy, and it looks like that enemy is nearer than we thought.”
She took a breath and nodded. Her strong feelings were less but still there. “You are right, my Queen. I won’t let Ben use me. I promise I will do anything to help us defeat him and keep our pack safe.”
In a smooth movement, Dale went down on one knee with her sword out and the blade shining like a promise. She held it nicely in her hands and looked at us.
“I promise to stay loyal to you, Your Highness, and to you, Alpha King Adams. I will be with you both forever, and I will help you defeat our foes.”
Adams looked at me with a small expression showing both respect and pride on his face. “You have been very brave Dale. Your loyalty is more than just words right now.”
“We will tie your promise,” I said while moving closer. “But first I need to take this vow.” I carefully took the handle of Dale’s sword and lifted it up.
“With this sword starting now, you are promised to be my protector and the protector of our land.”
Dale’s voice was strong. “I promise by the Moon Goddess I will never hurt you even if I feel confused. If I do, I want her to take my life.”
As I carefully gave the sword back to her, I glanced at Adams, who nodded. “Dale, I now make you not only a palace guard but also a personal guard for Lilith.”
A small light of happiness sparkled in Dale’s eyes. It showed that just the thought of being with us was important to her. “Thank you, Your Highness. I will not disappoint you!”
“Great!” Adams said while looking around the room. “Now we have something else to deal with right away.”
He looked at Shayla who was a little way off with her face white, showing fear in her eyes.
“Shayla, you will pay for your betrayal. Take her away. Lock her up with Gabby. And make sure they are well-watched.” Adams ordered.
A few soldiers jumped into action, moving fast and carefully as they took Shayla away with her cries and complaints fading into the quiet of the room.
“I need to ride to Thornvale Village,” Adams said while sounding more serious. “People have seen rogues. They are getting braver. We need to check it out.”
“My dear,” I said, clearly a bit worried. “Our troops are already sent there.”
Adams nodded. “Yes, I sent a team. But I have a feeling this is more than just a simple sighting. I will go to Thornvale myself. Dale,” he looked at her, “get ready. We are leaving now…”